Wednesday, July 28, 2010

When Galina came to visit I became more aware of different details of Göttingen as I tried to give a credible tour of the city. Since then, the city became home again, and beautiful landmarks around me became part of "my home" and I never really viewed them again as wonderful, historical cornerstones of the city, but more normalized scenery of the streets that I would cross multiple times a day.

[ St. Jacobi Kirche - unfortunately under construction this year, but the tallest church on the Göttingen skyline ]

Göttingen is almost completely in central Germany. Located in the southern part of the Bundesland Nidersachsen [Lower Saxony] it was a crossroads for many through the country. The city became a meeting point of high education leading to its reknowned university which boasts many Noble Prized thinkers and academics. Once outside of the city, it seems as though only kilometers of rolling hills and wheat fields abound. [ waiting to become beer probably ]

Göttingen itself still has a visible wall that used to protect the city. The enclosure was a guarded community that centralized around harnessing education. Along these streets that are considered some of the best preserved old town streets in Germany, four churches still mark the city's skyline. Three are protestant churches, and one is Catholic, alluding to the unique placement of the city and the history of the country itself. From a distance these churches can be seen from kilometers away, and from the center of the city, right next to the Ganseliesel stature is a small plaque in the ground, where the viewer can see all four churches at one point - after all, the heart of Göttingen is less than a square kilometer [ only just larger than a square half mile! ].

[ Vier Kirchen Blick - The four church view: St. Michael, St. Johannis, St. Albani, St. Jacobi ]